REF NO : B70030

Henri Picard

A Pair of Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze and Patinated Bronze Athéniennes

France, Circa 1870

£55,000

A Fine Pair of Napoléon III Gilt-Bronze and Patinated Bronze Athéniennes Modelled in the Classical Antique Style, Attributed to Henri Picard. The...

Dimensions

Height: 89 cm (36 in)
Width: 46 cm (19 in)
Depth: 41 cm (17 in)
REF NO : B70030

Description

A Fine Pair of Napoléon III Gilt-Bronze and Patinated Bronze Athéniennes Modelled in the Classical Antique Style, Attributed to Henri Picard.

The bronze impressed with the number R 2571 and R 2572.

This fine pair of bronze Athéniennes or jardinières is modelled in the classical antique style with tôle basins and gilt highlighted, foliate, vitruvian scroll borders. They are raised on triple female-mask monopodiae tripod supports, with berried bosses and united by gilt bronze rope-twist stretchers.

The athénienne was a completely new, multifunctional type of French Neoclassical furniture used as a jardinière, washstand, perfume burner or brazier. It derived from classical antique forms, such as the ‘Isis Tripod’ found at Temple of Isis in Pompeii in the 1760’s, and from Olympic choragic tripod torches, such as the one that graced the Athenian monument to Dionysus, popularly known as the ‘Lanthorn of Lysicrates’. One of the first recorded designs for an athénienne was by Jean-Henri Eberts, editor of ‘Le Monument du Costume’, first advertised in L’avant Coureur in September 1773. An example was supplied to Madame du Barry (1743-1793) at Louveciennes in 1774 and an athénienne after the design by Eberts, now resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York [1993.355.1]. The exceptional quality of the bronzes on this pair of Athéniennes would suggest the work of one of the most eminent fondeurs of the period and the model is recorded to have been made during the third quarter of the 19th century by Henri Picard.

France, Circa 1870.

 

Date

Circa 1870

Origin

France

Medium

Patinated Bronze

Signature

The bronze impressed with the number R 2571 and R 2572.

Henri Picard

The important fondeur and doreur Henri Picard worked in Paris from 1831 to 1884, most notably for the Emperor Napoléon III. He was based in Paris at 6 rue Jarente from 1831 to 1839, before moving to 10 rue de la Perle. The firm was active until around 1890.

Celebrated for the high quality of his production, Henri Picard supplied many important patrons, including garnitures and table pieces for the petits appartements of Emperor Napoléon III at the Louvre. An important pair of twelve-light candelabra by Picard remain in the Musée du Louvre today.

Bibliography:
Mestdagh, Camille & Lécoules, Pierre. L’Ameublement d’Art Français, 1850-1900, Les Editions de L’Amateur, (Paris), 2010; p 32.

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